History authors

[Kurben]

I love history! I read a lot of it and i have a few fave authors.
I think Adrian Goldsworthy and Tom Holland are very good at the ancient world of romans and their neighbours. They are relatively new in the field too but write well. Goldsworthy biography over ceasar is very good.
Another good writer is Robin Lane Fox. Early christianity and the classical world in general
For anthropology Jared Diamond is great and not to be missed. His Guns, Germs And Steel is a classic.
For WWII Anthony Beevor is clear and masters all fronts in a good way.
On religious history i really like Karen Armstrong.
Simon Sebag Montefiores books on Stalin are good. On the russian gulags Anne Applebaum is great.
Ian Kershaws and Jochen Fests different books on Hitler are the two best biographies Ive read on him.
Max Hastings and John Keegan has written good ones of the first world war.
On egypt Barbara Mertz is an easy beginning, well written and covering the major themes and times well.
Most of Barbara Tuchmans books are good, some great. She treats different times and subjects which makes it more impressive.
I like Dee Brown and her Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Peter Ackroyd are writing a History of England that has started Very promising. Three parts so far and we are up to the Civil War there during the late 17,th century.
David McCollough i like on the American Revolution.
Howard Zinn and Walter A. McDougall offers rather different telling of americas political history from different perspectives.
And Larissa Juliet Taylor has written an interesting life of Joan of Arc.
Douglas Seward does a good job of clearing up the mess that was the 100 years war between England and France.
This was some authors i like, has obviously skipped many, gotta be brief, but history is a captivating subject. At least i think so.

 

[niro]

I have been to a reading of Ian Kershaw a couple of years ago.
I had heard his name before and thought it could be a treat.
It was, he did not read but talked with the host (bookshop employe) and answered questions.
I was surprised he can speak German.
As you know by know I am just interested no real history buff. There were a lot of older men who asked specific queestions about devisions and so on. Mr. Kershaw seemed to know everything.
I bought the book later "The End" and still have to read it.

Ever heard of Eugen Kogon?
My history teacher told us about him he wrote in 1946/47 a book about concentration camps of course he were in one for several years. I had to stop reading it because of a chapter about torture. Maybe I should skip that one and read the rest.

 

[skimom2]

I like
-Alison Weir's English histories (both actual history and historical novels), particularly of the Tudor period.
-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago is a good overview of Stalin Era Russia (admittedly, with a bias, but fascinating nonetheless)
-Ron Chernow's bios of Hamilton and Washington are fabulous
-Joseph J. Ellis is also reliable for the American Revolutionary period
-Shelby Foote is beyond compare for the American Civil War era
-Eugene Kogon's The Theory and Practice of Hell was absorbing; I wish more of his books were available in English (I struggled through one other, but my German just isn't advanced enough). It's interesting to look at Liberation theology from his viewpoint, as well--it's most often attached to Latin America, but Kogon was advancing a form of it decades before it blossomed in LA.
-A.J. Languth is another American historian who is interesting.

 

[staropeace]

I love history! I read a lot of it and i have a few fave authors.
I think Adrian Goldsworthy and Tom Holland are very good at the ancient world of romans and their neighbours. They are relatively new in the field too but write well. Goldsworthy biography over ceasar is very good.
Another good writer is Robin Lane Fox. Early christianity and the classical world in general
For anthropology Jared Diamond is great and not to be missed. His Guns, Germs And Steel is a classic.
For WWII Anthony Beevor is clear and masters all fronts in a good way.
On religious history i really like Karen Armstrong.
Simon Sebag Montefiores books on Stalin are good. On the russian gulags Anne Applebaum is great.
Ian Kershaws and Jochen Fests different books on Hitler are the two best biographies Ive read on him.
Max Hastings and John Keegan has written good ones of the first world war.
On egypt Barbara Mertz is an easy beginning, well written and covering the major themes and times well.
Most of Barbara Tuchmans books are good, some great. She treats different times and subjects which makes it more impressive.
I like Dee Brown and her Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Peter Ackroyd are writing a History of England that has started Very promising. Three parts so far and we are up to the Civil War there during the late 17,th century.
David McCollough i like on the American Revolution.
Howard Zinn and Walter A. McDougall offers rather different telling of americas political history from different perspectives.
And Larissa Juliet Taylor has written an interesting life of Joan of Arc.
Douglas Seward does a good job of clearing up the mess that was the 100 years war between England and France.
This was some authors i like, has obviously skipped many, gotta be brief, but history is a captivating subject. At least i think so.

Barbara Mertz was, also, a writer of ghost stories and mysteries....Barbara Michaels, Elizabeth Peters. She died of cancer a few years ago. So wonderful she was. I loved all her stuff about Egypt.

 

[fljoe0]

If you like good historical fiction (that's fairly recent and you probably don't know much about), try Russell Banks', The Darling. It's about Charles Taylor and Liberia. It's riveting.

The Darling (novel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Kurben]

T

I like
-Alison Weir's English histories (both actual history and historical novels), particularly of the Tudor period.
-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago is a good overview of Stalin Era Russia (admittedly, with a bias, but fascinating nonetheless)
-Ron Chernow's bios of Hamilton and Washington are fabulous
-Joseph J. Ellis is also reliable for the American Revolutionary period
-Shelby Foote is beyond compare for the American Civil War era
-Eugene Kogon's The Theory and Practice of Hell was absorbing; I wish more of his books were available in English (I struggled through one other, but my German just isn't advanced enough). It's interesting to look at Liberation theology from his viewpoint, as well--it's most often attached to Latin America, but Kogon was advancing a form of it decades before it blossomed in LA.
-A.J. Languth is another American historian who is interesting.

ThAnks for the tips. Have read some of Weir and Solzhenitzyn. But the tips on american history will come in handy.

 

[PatInTheHat]

Are you JD's love child???...cider on a cypher he'd woulda lived you ...probably best you never met him, I mean you'da got nothin' done;-)

 

[Kurben]

Barbara Mertz was, also, a writer of ghost stories and mysteries....Barbara Michaels, Elizabeth Peters. She died of cancer a few years ago. So wonderful she was. I loved all her stuff about Egypt.

I know, read some of her stuff as Elisabeth Peters. It is not that common that a good egyptologist actually can write well. Thats probably why her factbooks are easier to read than others.

 

[Cowboy]

I love history books!

Anything by Stephen Ambrose and so far, I have loved two of the books by S.C. Gwynne, Rebel Yell and Empire of the Summer Moon.

 

[Kurben]

I like
-Alison Weir's English histories (both actual history and historical novels), particularly of the Tudor period.
-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago is a good overview of Stalin Era Russia (admittedly, with a bias, but fascinating nonetheless)
-Ron Chernow's bios of Hamilton and Washington are fabulous
-Joseph J. Ellis is also reliable for the American Revolutionary period
-Shelby Foote is beyond compare for the American Civil War era
-Eugene Kogon's The Theory and Practice of Hell was absorbing; I wish more of his books were available in English (I struggled through one other, but my German just isn't advanced enough). It's interesting to look at Liberation theology from his viewpoint, as well--it's most often attached to Latin America, but Kogon was advancing a form of it decades before it blossomed in LA.
-A.J. Languth is another American historian who is interesting.

Have you read Battle cry for Freedom by James McPherson on the Civil War? Thought it was great. About 950 pages but then you had the era in one book.

 

[shaitan]

I love history! I read a lot of it and i have a few fave authors.
I think Adrian Goldsworthy and Tom Holland are very good at the ancient world of romans and their neighbours. They are relatively new in the field too but write well. Goldsworthy biography over ceasar is very good.
Another good writer is Robin Lane Fox. Early christianity and the classical world in general
For anthropology Jared Diamond is great and not to be missed. His Guns, Germs And Steel is a classic.
For WWII Anthony Beevor is clear and masters all fronts in a good way.
On religious history i really like Karen Armstrong.
Simon Sebag Montefiores books on Stalin are good. On the russian gulags Anne Applebaum is great.
Ian Kershaws and Jochen Fests different books on Hitler are the two best biographies Ive read on him.
Max Hastings and John Keegan has written good ones of the first world war.
On egypt Barbara Mertz is an easy beginning, well written and covering the major themes and times well.
Most of Barbara Tuchmans books are good, some great. She treats different times and subjects which makes it more impressive.
I like Dee Brown and her Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Peter Ackroyd are writing a History of England that has started Very promising. Three parts so far and we are up to the Civil War there during the late 17,th century.
David McCollough i like on the American Revolution.
Howard Zinn and Walter A. McDougall offers rather different telling of americas political history from different perspectives.
And Larissa Juliet Taylor has written an interesting life of Joan of Arc.
Douglas Seward does a good job of clearing up the mess that was the 100 years war between England and France.
This was some authors i like, has obviously skipped many, gotta be brief, but history is a captivating subject. At least i think so.

Anne Applebaum's "Gulag" book is not entirely accurate. Don't remember the particulars - been a while since I've read it. You're much better off reading translated "The Gulag Archipelago." That is if you don't speak Russian, of course.
As far as Russian historians go, you will not find one who's completely impartial. They are either staunch anti-communists, or think that Russians are superior to everybody else on this planet and beyond. I even went as far as to ask a tour guide who is a Ph.D. in history from one of top Russian universities. She said, that there's no such thing as an impartial Russian historian. She also absolutely hates Solzhenitsyn, but says, that from the historical facts perspective, he's very good. His command of the Russian language is impeccable, which makes him a pleasure to read.
Norman Davies is exceptional on Easter European history.
Martin Gilbert's WWI and WWII books are great, as well as the rest of his books for that matter.
The Oxford History Of The United States series is phenomenal, although volumes on the Restoration period is way overdue.
Agree about McCollough completely.
Shelby Foote is a monster. His Civil War trilogy has no equals.
Albert Speer's memoir on WWII is pretty good, though the guy wasn't a writer. He was Hitler's personal architect, since his own aspirations as an architect or an artist didn't pan out (one of the reasons he was pissed at the entire world).

 

[Kurben]

I

Anne Applebaum's "Gulag" book is not entirely accurate. Don't remember the particulars - been a while since I've read it. You're much better off reading translated "The Gulag Archipelago." That is if you don't speak Russian, of course.
As far as Russian historians go, you will not find one who's completely impartial. They are either staunch anti-communists, or think that Russians are superior to everybody else on this planet and beyond. I even went as far as to ask a tour guide who is a Ph.D. in history from one of top Russian universities. She said, that there's no such thing as an impartial Russian historian. She also absolutely hates Solzhenitsyn, but says, that from the historical facts perspective, he's very good. His command of the Russian language is impeccable, which makes him a pleasure to read.
Norman Davies is exceptional on Easter European history.
Martin Gilbert's WWI and WWII books are great, as well as the rest of his books for that matter.
The Oxford History Of The United States series is phenomenal, although volumes on the Restoration period is way overdue.
Agree about McCollough completely.
Shelby Foote is a monster. His Civil War trilogy has no equals.
Albert Speer's memoir on WWII is pretty good, though the guy wasn't a writer. He was Hitler's personal architect, since his own aspirations as an architect or an artist didn't pan out (one of the reasons he was pissed at the entire world).

I Have read, at least some of them, solzhenitzyns Gulag Archipelago. Impressive but thought Applebaum did a good job too. Have read her book on the Iron Curtain too which i didn't like as much. Thanks for the tip on Gilbert. On Speer i must say i liked Gitta Serenys book on him.

 

[Kurben]

Are you JD's love child???...cider on a cypher he'd woulda lived you ...probably best you never met him, I mean you'da got nothin' done;-)

OK...... Consider me confused

 

[shaitan]

I

I Have read, at least some of them, solzhenitzyns Gulag Archipelago. Impressive but thought Applebaum did a good job too. Have read her book on the Iron Curtain too which i didn't like as much. Thanks for the tip on Gilbert. On Speer i must say i liked Gitta Serenys book on him.

Applebaum's book is fairly decent, don't get me wrong. It's just a handful of misconceptions, that are prevalent among authors who write about Russia/USSR, but don't speak the language and have never lived there. Just doesn't sit well with me, being a little pedantic and all.
I'm a big sucker for personal accounts of wars by soldiers themselves. If you're interested, I can get you the names of the books or ISBNs. Hell, if you're in tri-state area, you're welcome to borrow them.

 

[PatInTheHat]

OK...... Consider me confused

JD is John Daglish, a most esteemed and not just a little well loved eternal member, and probably one of, if not the, most well read folkens I have ever had the pleasure to have met...and he was a freakin' hoot, and one that made ya think about what you was a'hootin' about, truly one of a kind, and with a mind.
He woulda loved you, you guys woulda got along famously, and history was of a particular fondness of his, you two woulda never shut up

 

[Kurben]

Applebaum's book is fairly decent, don't get me wrong. It's just a handful of misconceptions, that are prevalent among authors who write about Russia/USSR, but don't speak the language and have never lived there. Just doesn't sit well with me, being a little pedantic and all.
I'm a big sucker for personal accounts of wars by soldiers themselves. If you're interested, I can get you the names of the books or ISBNs. Hell, if you're in tri-state area, you're welcome to borrow them.

I'm in sweden so it might be difficult. I have always liked to mix my reading experiences. Some histories that take the overview look and connect the dots in a way that no participants could have done. And some histories that are based on participant experiences. If you like personal experiences you must read In Beauty And In Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First world war by Peter Englund. Entirely made up from letters, diaries from soldiers and other participants on every front. The result is different but no less true than other histories. Great book.

 

[Kurben]

I love history books!

Anything by Stephen Ambrose and so far, I have loved two of the books by S.C. Gwynne, Rebel Yell and Empire of the Summer Moon.

Have read Empire of the Summer Moon. Liked it Very much. Is Rebell Yell as good?

 

[Cowboy]

OK...... Consider me confused

John Dalglish was a well loved member who loved history readings. He was quite an intelligent person and loved to converse with all.

Have read Empire of the Summer Moon. Liked it Very much. Is Rebell Yell as good?

Yes, it was extremely well written and kept my attention the entire time. I didn't want to put it down once I started reading it.

 

[skimom2]

Have you read Battle cry for Freedom by James McPherson on the Civil War? Thought it was great. About 950 pages but then you had the era in one book.

I haven't. I have one of his other books around here somewhere, but I can't recall the title right now.

 

[Kurben]

I haven't. I have one of his other books around here somewhere, but I can't recall the title right now.

Probably one of his on Lincoln. He wrote one on Jefferson Davis too but havent read them.